Clarks Hill Fishing Report – April 2019

Clarks Hill: Level: 1.6 feet low. Temp: High 50s to low 60s. Clarity: The mid to lower lake areas are slightly stained with the upper end and also out Georgia Little River being very stained.

Bass: Tournament angler Joshua Rockefeller reports, “The Clarks Hill bass have been biting up shallow on a spinnerbait. The water is warming, and the fishing should start heating up. Look for banks and pockets with stick-grass submerged. Bass will begin to start spawning and as we move closer to mid April, and then they’ll begin to move out and start schooling on blueback herring. Some fish can be caught on a Buckeye Lures jig in PBJ color on secondary rocky points. Any rocky staging areas will hold decent fish before and after the spawn. Water temps are ranging from 59-65 degrees depending on how much sun we have that day. Tournament angler Jon Hair reports, “The fish are moving shallow to spawn. Good techniques are a Greenfish Tackle jig, a Creeper Head with a Zoom Speed Craw and a spinnerbait in spawning pockets. Congrats to Chris Rodwell, of Evans, for winning the local Top Six tournament with a two-day total of 33 pounds.”

Linesides: Guide Bradd Sasser reports, “The hybrids and stripers are in the very early stages of preparing to spawn. They are pushing up into the shallows anywhere from 10 to 20 feet deep in blow-throughs and on points along the edges of the channel. Shortly before and shortly after daybreak they are feeding aggressively. After that, the fish are maintaining the same depths but are scattering out. Downlines with herring are most productive for the daybreak bite, but both downlines and planer boards are producing during the later bite. As the water warms up, there will be a very good evening bite along the rocks and cable at the lower dam.” Capt. Eddie Mason reports, “The spring bite has already gotten here, and it’s just getting better and better every day. Fishing has been great, and we’re still catching plenty of fish on downrods with live blueback herring in 28 to 30 feet of water. Go to the bottom and come back up about three cranks. We’re fishing main river channel points and humps. When the water gets up to 60 degrees, we will change up and use planer boards and freelines on shallow points and blow-throughs. Fish should go to schooling in shallow water once the surface temperature gets back to around 60.”